1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a child seat, and in particular to a collapsible child seat.
2. Description of Related Art
Young children commonly have difficulty seeing a movie screen or stage when seated in a conventional theater seat. The eye-level of a young child seated on a seat of the conventional theater chair is typically below the top of a chair backrest or a person positioned or seated in front of the child. Thus, the person and/or seat in front of the child obscures the child's view of the screen or the stage.
Children also commonly have difficulty supporting themselves upright when seated in the standard theater chair. Children tend to tilt, slouch or kneel in conventional theater chairs because the oversize chair does not properly support the child. Children may even slip off the seat when slouching.
Booster chairs have been used to elevate the child above the seat of the theater chair. U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,388 discloses an example of a prior booster chair. Prior booster chairs, however, are bulky and are not easily transportable. Because of their shape and size, many parents of young children also find it cumbersome and awkward to carry a booster chair into a theater. Some parents may further be embarrassed because such bulky booster chairs are obtrusive in crowds and are conspicuous.
Collapsible chairs have also been used to elevate a child. These chairs suspend from the backrest of a chair or car seat. U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,641,953 and 2,508,822 disclose examples of such prior suspension-type child chairs.
These prior collapsible, suspension-type child chairs, however, suffer from several drawbacks. The construction of these prior chair is complicated, which in some cases may make the chair difficult to assemble, to attach to a chair and/or to use. The hardware of the prior chairs may also damage the upholstery of the support structure (e.g., chair). The complicated construction further increases the manufacturing costs of these collapsible child chairs. These prior devices are also conspicuous, heavy and not easily transportable. Moreover, these devices cannot be adjusted to different chair sizes onto which the child chair is attached.